“I’ve realized that, but tonight, we’re celebrating,” I answered. My tone was firm and strict, and she finally seemed to give in. “Great! You’re going to love this.”
I poured each of us a drink, and offered her one. She took it from me hesitantly, and took a small sip. Her eyes widened.
“Wow, that’s good,” she commented with a nod. “Seriously good.”
“Mm, that’s why I wanted it,” I said. “I only want the best.”
As I said that, I reached out to brush a hand over her cheek; a more direct, risky move.
Out of the blue, the doors flew open, and Landon stepped in. His usually stoic expression was far more stern than usual; even angry.
“Adriana,” he said simply, and she turned to him with a fright. “I need to speak with you. Right now.”
15
Adriana
My heart dropped to my feet. I still had the glass of wine in my hand. Landon would not be impressed that I had been drinking, even if it wasn’t much, and even if Bryant had been right about my work hours.
“Excuse me,” I said to Bryant, putting the glass on the table and standing up. I followed Landon out of the private lounge and down the hall. He was silent, but I could see that he was furious in the way that he was walking. My jaw tightened as I walked behind him, hoping that I wouldn’t be in too much trouble.
I knew that Bryant had said he wouldn’t allow Landon to fire me, but did he really have that kind of power? In the end, the choice was Landon’s, and I didn’t think he would let anyone get in his way, even the hotel’s most important guest.
At the end of the day, all of the power over my career lay with Landon, and he could decide to end my employment whenever he wanted to.
I was probably overthinking this, but I couldn’t help myself. Perfection was my pride, and even minor mistakes would haunt me.
We finally reached Landon’s office and I followed him inside, closing the door behind me. I waited for him to speak first. If it wasn’t the wine that he was mad about, then I didn’t want to make the situation worse by mentioning it. At the same time, I wondered what could have made him this furious.
I hadn’t made any mistakes that day. Even with my additional secret mission, I’d kept up with every event, every issue, and every request. There were no complaints, at least not directly.
“What is wrong with you?” Landon asked as he swung around to face me.
“I’m sorry?” I replied, surprised by the sheer fury and frustration in his voice.
“You went against myexplicitwarning not to gonearMr. Thatcher,” Landon ranted, his jaw tight and his voice low. “And not only that, but I find you having an intimate meeting with him in his private lounge? Why the hell would you do that?”
I crossed my arms defiantly. “He’s a guest, isn’t he? I can’t just refuse direct requests.”
Landon scoffed and rubbed at his forehead as if I was driving him up the walls. “Itoldyou to avoid him. That means you don’t evenspeakto him. If you did that, he wouldn’t be able tomakeany requests.”
“Why does this bother you so much?” I pushed, taking a step forward to show Landon that I wasn’t going to be intimidated. “What is it about Mr. Thatcher that has you so worked up? Are you jealous of him? What is it?”
“I told you to trust me,” Landon insisted, avoiding my questions entirely. “That’s all you need to do.”
“How can I, if you don’t tell me anything?” I snapped back, refusing to let this go.
“All you need to know is to stay away from him,” Landon was pacing now, as if he needed to get rid of this energy somehow. “Why is that so hard for you to do? You can follow any other order, but this one seems impossible.”
“So now it’s an order?” I asked. My own anger was building up, and I wasn’t sure I could hold it back. “You’re using your position, huh? Can’t you just be honest with me? You have to intimidate me into doing your bidding? Is that who you really are, Landon?”
“Just trust me!” Landon almost shouted, a volume that I’d never heard from him before. “And the wine! I saw the label. Did you get that for him?”
I wasn’t scared, but I knew that I had to be careful. I wasn’t about to just admit to sneaking that bottle into the hotel. If arguing with him wasn’t enough for me to get fired, I’m sure that kind of insubordination would be.
“It was there when I got to the lounge,” I answered with what I hoped was a convincing shrug. “I don’t know anything about it. Why? What does that have to do with anything?”
Landon peered at me suspiciously, like he didn’t really know whether he could believe me or not. I kept my gaze steady, not fidgeting, not looking away. Bryant had been adamant that he didn’t want Landon to find out. I didn’t really like lying, and I knew that Sierra would be absolutely disappointed in me for it.
